My late friend, Frank Slaymaker, was the Shah's personal pilot. His wife, Pari, was Head of Nursing under the Shah. They ended up in the south of France following his fall from grace. Frank, a wonderful gentleman, never spoke much about that period of his life.
“The Shah will be an active participant in Iranian life well into the 1980s…. There will be no radical change in Iranian political behavior in the near future.” Secret CIA report “Iran in the 1980s,” August 1977.
I really enjoyed listening to Scott. He was in Afghanistan in 1974. I was there in 1978 during the time of the star Revolution when the government was overthrown and became communist and then a year later the USSR invaded. I was staying with a Canadian family that was working there for BC Hydro. We didn’t leave the house the 2 two days I was there. We had two soldiers with bayonets at the front door, about a dozen army tanks outside my bedroom window, lots of soldiers, they had taken over the radio station across the field, and at night, a huge spotlight set up on a hill with pan through my bedroom. Afghanistan was going to be the highlight of my trip and it will certainly was.. when we got to around the Desert look bleak, but when we arrived in Tehran, it felt very modern and upscale. In both Afghanistan and Tehran women were wearing mini skirts and high heels and their hair and make up the same as in Canada, but the atmosphere in Tehran and Iran felt odd.. there were photos of the Shah everywhere, including on the streets where are shoe shiners would have a picture of him beside them. We had to avoid Qom, Khomeni’s hometown, even though he didn’t arrive until the next year. Unlike Scott, I didn’t get to see the poor villages, but I know what he means because I spent a lot of time in other Middle Eastern countries since then I’m really looking forward to reading Scott’s books.
The Middle East is a good place to be from. The best thing Canada can do is keep out of its interminable problems (and support Israel, its only democracy).
Brilliant conversation. I so enjoyed Lawrence in Arabia and based on this podcast, look forward to King of Kings. Paul opened by referring to the heft of the book so I might have been hesitant before listening b
My late friend, Frank Slaymaker, was the Shah's personal pilot. His wife, Pari, was Head of Nursing under the Shah. They ended up in the south of France following his fall from grace. Frank, a wonderful gentleman, never spoke much about that period of his life.
Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Riveting and I look forward to this new book.
“The Shah will be an active participant in Iranian life well into the 1980s…. There will be no radical change in Iranian political behavior in the near future.” Secret CIA report “Iran in the 1980s,” August 1977.
I really enjoyed listening to Scott. He was in Afghanistan in 1974. I was there in 1978 during the time of the star Revolution when the government was overthrown and became communist and then a year later the USSR invaded. I was staying with a Canadian family that was working there for BC Hydro. We didn’t leave the house the 2 two days I was there. We had two soldiers with bayonets at the front door, about a dozen army tanks outside my bedroom window, lots of soldiers, they had taken over the radio station across the field, and at night, a huge spotlight set up on a hill with pan through my bedroom. Afghanistan was going to be the highlight of my trip and it will certainly was.. when we got to around the Desert look bleak, but when we arrived in Tehran, it felt very modern and upscale. In both Afghanistan and Tehran women were wearing mini skirts and high heels and their hair and make up the same as in Canada, but the atmosphere in Tehran and Iran felt odd.. there were photos of the Shah everywhere, including on the streets where are shoe shiners would have a picture of him beside them. We had to avoid Qom, Khomeni’s hometown, even though he didn’t arrive until the next year. Unlike Scott, I didn’t get to see the poor villages, but I know what he means because I spent a lot of time in other Middle Eastern countries since then I’m really looking forward to reading Scott’s books.
The Middle East is a good place to be from. The best thing Canada can do is keep out of its interminable problems (and support Israel, its only democracy).
Brilliant conversation. I so enjoyed Lawrence in Arabia and based on this podcast, look forward to King of Kings. Paul opened by referring to the heft of the book so I might have been hesitant before listening b